Neurorreguladores cerebrales de la agresión

Abstract

Aggression is a particularly complex behavioural output that depends on a rich variety of neuroregulators (and their receptors) acting in specific areas of the brain, related to alarm/defensive as well as offensive tactics. First of all, we review data linking serotonin function with the inhibition of violent and impulsive acts. We also discuss data concerning other centrally acting monoamines, peptides and neurohormones, which usually activate aggressive behaviour. How these neurochemical systems work and interact depend both on long-lasting individual profiles and experience-driven inputs. To conclude we look at the prospects of a selective psychopharmacology for pathological aggressiveness, which may be achieved through recent advances made in the molecular description of crucial targets within the neurobiology of aggression.